The state Fish and Game Commission quietly replaced its president Wednesday, nearly seven months after he killed a mountain lion in Idaho and infuriated conservationists by posing proudly with the slain beast.

At the meeting in Ventura, Daniel Richards joined a unanimous vote to pick Jim Kellogg as the new president of the five-member commission, which oversees wildlife management. Richards, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008, may remain a member until his term expires in January and has given no indication of leaving early.

Richards, a Southern California real estate agent and developer, came to public attention after sending a photo to a hunting publication that showed him grinning and cradling the carcass of the mountain lion that he shot Jan. 20 during a hunt on a ranch in northern Idaho. Mountain lion hunting has been outlawed in California since 1971, but, as Richards told the Western Outdoor News, "I'm glad it's legal in Idaho."

Conservation groups called for his resignation and were joined by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and 40 Assembly Democrats, who questioned how he could enforce state hunting laws that he seemed to disrespect. Richards replied by comparing his actions to those of Californians who gamble in Nevada.

The hunt proved to be a legal problem for Richards, because the ranch did not charge him its usual $6,800 hunting fee. State law limits commissioners' gifts to $420 a year and requires repayment within 30 days to avoid penalties. Richards paid the ranch after the 30-day limit, but the state Fair Political Practices Commission let him off without punishment in April.

After the uproar, commissioners voted in June to elect a president by majority vote rather than designating the most senior member as president, the system under which Richards was chosen in February.

Richards was unapologetic on the eve of Wednesday's vote, describing his critics as "enviro-terrorists" in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. But the subject was never raised at the meeting, and Richards' only comment was to express appreciation for his time as the commission's president, said Adrianna Shea, the commission's deputy director.